Quarantine-free travel lane between Singapore and Malaysia reopens, 'Expand VTL-Air scheme', Frustrated over quarantine policy updates

  Quarantine-free travel lane between Singapore and Malaysia..

 

Quarantine-free travel lane between Singapore and Malaysia.. 

'Expand VTL-Air scheme' from Singapore to Penang , Sabah, Sarawak

Dr Wee: VTL quota increase depends on Malaysia-Singapore... 

Vaccinated Travel Lane Extended to Six More Countries - Civil ...

 

 

Singapore - A Causeway Link bus leaving the Larkin Sentral Bus Terminal and Public Transportation and heading into Singapore under the Vaccinated Travel Lane here in Johor Baru on Friday (Jan 21, 2021). - THOMAS YONG/The Star

Quarantine-free travel lane between Singapore and Malaysia..

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 21 (Xinhua): The bus and flight tickets under the land and air Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Malaysia and Singapore have resumed with immediate effect, Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Friday.

However, the volume of tickets has been halved with only 50 per cent of the capacity of vehicles plying the routes allowed, as part of measures to slow the spread of Covid-19, he said in a statement.

"The timeline regarding this ticket sales quota increase will depend on the risk assessment to be performed from time to time by the Health Ministry based on the current Covid-19 situation in both countries," he said.

The VTL kicked off on Nov. 29 last year and involved travel via the bridge connecting Malaysia to Singapore as well as an air corridor, but was suspended since Dec. 23 over the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Those traveling via the VTL will face eased restrictions including quarantine requirements being waived for fully vaccinated individuals. - Xinhua

Covid-19 won't keep families apart | The Star

 

Frustrated over quarantine policy updates

"I feel very helpless as the policy has been changed a few times and I am not sure what I should do anymore" - Zainah Ismai;.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians who travel abroad regularly have urged the government to be consistent and clear when updating its quarantine policy.
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Some said they were unaware of the latest changes and were caught by surprise at the airport.
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Dr Katherine Poh, a deputy vice-chancellor of a private university, said the period of quarantine must be spelt out in terms of nights and not days.
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“Seven days and seven nights are two different things. When I touched down at KL International Airport from Bangkok recently, I was told that I had to quarantine at a hotel for seven days.
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“However, on the seventh day, I was forced to stay for one more night. I thought seven days meant six nights and seven days,” she said.
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“I was told that as I checked into the hotel during the wee hours, I had to quarantine for an extra day.”
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To make matters worse, Poh, 68, said she was not provided with the help needed at the airport.
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“I was told that I had to observe my quarantine at a hotel and that I needed to get pre-approval if I wanted to do home quarantine.
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“I went to the counters representing hotels to seek help but none of them was open as I arrived in the wee hours.
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“I don’t mind quarantining at a hotel but I was so helpless as no one was there to assist,” she said.
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She said she was also treated like a Covid-19 patient at the hotel.
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“Why can’t the government have a different set of standard operating procedure for people arriving and not to treat us like Covid-19 patients?” she asked.
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Tutor Zainah Ismail vented her frustration as her application for home quarantine was rejected.
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“My home quarantine was rejected because I was coming back from Saudi Arabia. I live alone there. I have been teaching online and working from home for the past few weeks,” she said.
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Zainah said she did not want to pay extra to be quarantined at a hotel as she has a house where she can be alone.
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“I am really disappointed as I have been fully vaccinated but I still have to fork out extra money to quarantine in a hotel.
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“I feel very helpless as the policy has been changed a few times and I am not sure what I should do anymore,” she said.
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Australian Malaysian Singaporean Association president Thomson Ch’ng said the latest challenges posed by the Omicron variant and the constant changing of travel rules, including quarantine regulations, made it challenging for Malaysians abroad to plan a return trip home.
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“Malaysians abroad, including the thousands in Australia, have been separated from their loved ones since the start of the pandemic. “The high vaccination rate in both countries initially offered a glimpse of hope for international travel to return to normality.
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“Many Malaysian Chinese who are residing in Australia, were hoping to go home to reunite and reconnect with their loved ones during Chinese New Year, especially those with elderly parents and relatives after being separated for two years,” he added.
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On Thursday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said travellers who received booster shots were only required to undergo a five-day quarantine period upon arrival in Malaysia and they would not be required to wear pink surveillance wristbands.
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However, he said travellers from higher-risk countries, who were allowed to home quarantine, would still be required to wear a digital surveillance bracelet.

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India COVID: 30,709,557 Cases and 405,057 Deaths, learn from India's crisis!

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Govt denies reports of problems with its vaccine campaign

BENGALURU: India’s total Covid-19 cases passed 18 million after another world record daily infection, as the government rejected reports of problems with its vaccine campaign.

India reported 379,257 new Covid-19 cases and 3,645 new deaths yesterday, according to health ministry data. It was the highest number of deaths reported in a single day in India since the start of the pandemic.

India’s best hope to curb its second deadly wave of Covid-19 was to vaccinate its vast population, said experts, and on Wednesday it opened registrations for everyone above the age of 18 to be given jabs from tomorrow.

But the country, which is one of the world’s biggest producers of vaccines, does not have the stocks for the estimated 600 million people who will be eligible.

Many who tried to sign up said they failed, complaining on social media that they could not get a slot or they simply could not get online to register as the website repeatedly crashed.

“Statistics indicate that far from crashing or performing slowly, the system is performing without any glitches,” the government said in a statement on Wednesday.

The government said more than eight million people had registered for the vaccinations, but it was not immediately clear how many had got slots.

About 9% of India’s population have received one dose since the vaccination campaign began in January with healthworkers and then the elderly.

The second wave of infections has overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums and prompted an increasingly urgent response from allies overseas sending equipment.

“India’s outbreak is a humanita­rian crisis,” US Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter.

“I’m leading a letter to @moderna_tx, @pfizer, and @jnjnews to find out what steps they’re taking to expand global access to their vaccines to save lives and prevent variants from spreading around the world,” she said.

Two planes from Russia, carrying 20 oxygen concentrators, 75 ventilators, 150 bedside monitors, and medicines totalling 22 metric tonnes, arrived in the capital Delhi yesterday.

Delhi is reporting one death from Covid-19 every four minutes and ambulances have been taking the bodies of Covid-19 victims to makeshift crematorium facilities in parks and parking lots, where bodies burned on rows and rows of funeral pyres.

The US State Department issued a travel advisory warning on Wednesday against travel to India because of the pandemic and approved the voluntary departure of family members of US government employees in India.

A country of nearly 1.4 billion people, India thought the worst was over when cases ebbed in September.

But mass public gatherings such as political rallies and religious events that were allowed to continue, and relaxed attitudes on the risks fed by leaders touting victory over the virus led to what now has become a major humanitarian crisis, health experts say.

New variants of the virus have also partly led the surge.

Amid the crisis, voting for the eighth and final phase of the West Bengal state elections began yesterday, even as the devastating surge of infections continues to barrel across the country with a ferocious speed, filling crematoriums and graveyards.

More than eight million people are expected to vote in at least 11,860 polling stations across the state. A commission said distancing measures would be in place.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have faced criticism over the last few weeks for holding huge election rallies in the state, which health experts suggest might have driven the surge there too.

Other political parties also parti­cipated in rallies.

The state recorded more than 17,000 cases in the last 24 hours – its highest spike since the pandemic began. — Agencies

 

Adham: Learn from India's crisis

 

Space issue: A file photo of Serdang Hospital, which is now at 80% capacity. 

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians must take the rise in Covid-19 cases seriously to avoid a similar crisis as the one unfolding in India, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

His call comes as certain states and private hospitals are eportedly running out capacity to house and treat Covid-19 patients, although the overall occupancy rates of hospitals in the country as a whole was still at just over half.

“In January, (India) said that it looked like it was nearing the end of the pandemic, so people gathered in crowds, went here and there, and as a result, it is facing a storm.

“We must learn from them, especially with the existence of a new Covid-19 variant here, we feel that every Malaysian must be more careful and evaluate how the situation in India has worsened.

“If there is no need to be out, gather or have non-important meetings, then it is better to avoid doing so at this time because there are so many sporadic cases happening in the community, ” said Dr Adham when contacted yesterday.

Malaysia has been logging over 3,000 new infections daily over the past few days.

This has led to an occupancy rate of 54% of beds at the 72 Covid-19 public hospitals nationwide.

However, in states with high case numbers like Kelantan, Sarawak, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, hospitals are either at full or above 80% capacity.

“In Selangor, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang and Hospital Serdang are at 80% capacity and it is something we are worried about.

“In Kuala Lumpur, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre has also reached 80% capacity.

“Johor is also worrying as the Permai Hospital Sports Complex is at 80% capacity and so is Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail, where 61 beds out of 78 are filled, ” he said.

He dded that the government decided to extend the interstate travel ban as there were many clusters and sporadic cases resulting from such movements.

In states with a high number of Covid-19 cases, Dr Adham said the Ministry is coping by adding the capacity for low-risk quarantine and treatment centres (PKRCs), to which Level 1,2 and 3 patients are diverted, while Level 4 and 5 patients or more severe cases are sent to hospitals.

In Kelantan, the number of Covid-19 beds in Hospital Tumpat had to be increased from 84 to 87, while Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia is full and Hospital Machang has filled 21 of its 24 beds.

In Sarawak, Hospital Bintulu increased the number of Covid-19 beds from 102 to 147 while in Kapit and Sarikei, hospitals were already at capacity.

However, there were also hospitals with zero or below 50% Covid-19 bed occupancy, such as in Sabah, he said.

“Hospital beds are not nearly or at capacity in every state, but only in states with a high number of cases.

“Hospitals are only for Level 4 and 5 patients but so far it is still within control, ” he added.

Meanwhile for the PKRCs, out of 23,366 beds nationwide, only 43% were filled as at yesterday.

“We are also planning to add 600 more beds at the PKRC in Sungai Buloh, ” said Dr Adham.

Meanwhile, the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) has 9,000 beds and can accommodate patients from nearby states like Perak, Melaka and Negri Sembilan.

Level 1 patients or those who were asymptomatic and suitable for home quarantine were already allowed to do so by the Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC).

“This is under strict monitoring by the district health office and only if their situation is found to be suitable, otherwise, we will take them to the PKRC, ” said Dr Adham.

Public hospitals have also been outsourcing certain non-Covid-19 patients with light medical issues or elective cases to private hospitals to free up beds in public facilities, he added.

Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said private hospitals have reached their capacity for Covid-19 patients.

Dr Kuljit had asked the Ministry to decant non-Covid-19 patients to their hospitals in order to give public hospitals space to handle Covid-19 cases.

On Jan 11, during the peak of the previous surge in infections, the Emergency Ordinance was implemented, allowing the government to take over private healthcare resources.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Ministry will continue to refer non-Covid-19 cases to private hospitals to free up beds in public facilities.

“We have sent more than 3,000 cases with 48 non-Covid-19 illnesses to private hospitals to create more beds to treat Covid-19 patients.

“When cases are increasing, we will first stop elective surgery to increase the beds but continue emergency and non-emergency cases.

“We will certainly refer non-Covid-19 cases to private hospitals like we did before, ” he said.

Dr Kuljit said private hospitals had provided beds and expertise based on their individual capacity and capability.

However, due to the spike in Covid-19 cases over the last 14 days, all beds designated for the disease in private hospitals are occupied, including isolated intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

“Most private hospitals are not able to accept any more Covid-19 patients, particularly in the Klang Valley.

“Private hospitals are constrained on the number of beds and ICU facilities that can accommodate Covid-19 patients as well as the availability of specialists and nurses, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Kuljit added that even beds in private facilities in the Klang Valley and Johor were filling up fast.

“The biggest fear would be if we face a healthcare shutdown because of non-availability of beds and oxygen treatment, ” he said.

 

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Housekeeping Covid-19 away: ways to disinfect your home

 

Ministry details cleaning solutions for patients self-isolating at home

Clean those door knobs, tap faucets or other frequently touched surfaces.

Now that Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms at all are required to self-isolate at home instead of going to a quarantine centre, the Health Ministry has provided guidelines on sanitising your home if you are living with an infected person.

According to the ministry, the bathroom used by the patient should be disinfected at least once a day.

To prepare for the disinfectant solution, use five tablespoons of 5% sodium hypochlorite with 3.8 litres of water or four teaspoons of 5% sodium hypochlorite with 0.95 litres of water.

“The personal protective equipment needed are face mask, face shield, plastic apron and gloves.

“Surfaces can be cleaned with a normal detergent first, rinse and then clean using the disinfectant solution containing 0.1% sodium hypochlorite, ” it noted, adding that the person sanitising should wash their hands before and after the cleaning process.

Also, the ministry said that those who were living with a Covid-19 patient at home should wear a mask and disposable gloves when handling the patient’s clothes.

“Dirty clothes and linen should be stored in a sealed plastic or closed storage until it is ready to be washed.

“The clothes should also be separated from others.

“Don’t shake the laundry as the virus can be transmitted through the air, ” it said.

Health experts said the public should sanitise and disinfect shared spaces within their own house and workspace and especially if there was a Covid-19 case in the area.

Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman said one of the basic principles for sanitisation was whether there was a risk of virus exposure.

“It depends on whether there is presence of possible infection in the area or not, ” she said.

Dr Malina said if there was a positive case at the workplace, sanitisation needed to be done at the person’s work desk and common areas including lift, railing, door knobs, toilet and other identified areas.

“There is no need to have a blanket rule to sanitise the whole building, the road to the office or the drainage system, ” she added.

Public health assistant Muhamad Shahir Mohd Razali said it was safe to use disinfectants to clean surfaces that were regularly touched such as table tops and door knobs.

“This can also be done at the workplace where sanitisation can be done once every two weeks.

“And for surfaces that are regularly touched, they can do it twice a day.

“This will help reduce the risk of transmitting diseases and viruses, ” he added.

Shahir said his team often conducted sanitisation at places where a Covid-19 patient had been to such as quarantine centres, offices, crematoriums or cemeteries.

“We sanitise the areas with a chemical solution which is sodium hypochlorite and water mixed according to the required measurement.

“The areas that we sanitise are the toilet, kitchen, bedroom and common areas, ” he said, noting that the PPE worn during disinfection would later be discarded in a bio-hazard plastic bag sealed and sprayed with detergent.

Malaysian Medical Association president Prof Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said disposable gloves or gloves dedicated for sanitising surfaces should be worn when sanitising.

“The home should also be sufficiently ventilated when sanitising to protect against inhaling harmful chemical vapours from the disinfectant.

“Surfaces should be disinfected after they are cleaned with soap and water, ” he said, noting that disposable gloves or rubber gloves should be worn and discarded properly.

Dr Subramaniam said mobile phones should also be wiped clean and disinfected everyday as it was the most used device often placed on various surfaces.

He said frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, switches, table tops and chairs should be cleaned at least twice a day.

“Staff should get into the habit of washing hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitiser.

“In smaller companies, staff should clean and disinfect their own workstation, ” he said, adding that face masks should be worn in the office to protect others and surfaces from respiratory droplets.

Dr Malina emphasised that the basic measure in preventing Covid-19 infection was to take care of personal hygiene.

“Any person who has to be at the office, regardless of their Covid-19 status, as it is often unknown, should always avoid touching unnecessary areas, always wash their hands when touching various surfaces and should never allow their nasal droplets or saliva to contaminate the office or public areas.

“If there is a possible contamination, it should be cleaned as soon as possible, ” she added.

Dr Malina said the current measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 like working from home, reducing the number of employees to 30% and stricter SOP were adequate.

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